I went to some local stereo shop in Vegas to see what they had and I was appauled when the guy said, "oh, the G35, that's a souped up Altima" WRONG. Anyhow I was disgusted at their ignorance and won't be purchasing anything from them. Anyhow I corrected the guy, and he played it off like it was not a big deal. I didn't pay more than 30 g's for an Altima. Bah Humbug... All I have to say is do your research before opening your mouth idiots.

 

ignorance is bliss.

doesn't the G share the same basic engine as the altima, maxima, 350z and maybe something else?

 

That really is bad. Don't you just wonder what people are thinking sometime?? The G is a VERY distant relative to the Altima. Maybe like a second cousin once removed or something. A much nice car and if they did not know that they do not deserve your business!

 

Sure the G shares the same engine... so does the 350Z so that does that mean Altima=350Z same thing... Man those old Chevy Caprice station wagons had a 350V8 same as a Corvette...same fricken car right

 

the only thing the same is teh engine... however they are mounted differently. The Altimas engine is mounted horizontally which is sideways because it is a front wheel drive car. Ours like the the Z and Coupe is mounted Vertically because it is real wheel drive. Other than that the suspension is different as is the steering and im sure a few other lil things..

 

Infiniti's finally doing an about-face, and some people haven't caught on yet. The I35 is a souped-up Maxima, and the G20 is a souped-up Sentra. So, for someone who's not paying attention, it's not an entirely bogus jump.

In fact, when I had an insurance claim out to have my bumper fixed from a collision, the insurance agent tried to put me in a Corolla-sized rental, probably mistaking my G35 for a G20-sized car. Also not an entirely bad attempt for the clueless -- as the letter is supposed to be the model designator, and the number the engine size (slash-trim-level), so an even-more-souped-up-Sentra is not a bad guess.

I even went to a Solo2 autocross event, had an instructor ride with me (as I'm still new at this), and he started going into how FWD cars handle for several minutes. I said, "Umm, this is rear-wheel drive car. It's a new platform, targetted at the 3-series as it's competition." He looked shocked, but then his advice became much more helpful. The previous month's instructor wasn't quite so off... "What's this thing got? About 200 horsepower?" "260." "Really? Well, we're going to have some fun then...."

Don't sweat it. Most audio shops don't care about the drivetrain, anyway... for their purposes, if the head unit and radio setup are similar, that's all they need. Of course, our's still isn't like the Altima there, either.

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

doesn't the G share the same basic engine as the altima, maxima, 350z and maybe something else?

<hr></blockquote>Well, Nissan/Infiniti use the same V6 in pretty much all their V6 cars, but there's a lot more than engine to differentiate models. Things like drivetrain, suspension, transmission, not to mention interior materials, etc. The G35 has pretty much nothing in common with the Altima or Maxima aside from the engine.

After all, if all cars with the same engine are "essentially the same", then the Dodge Viper must just be a souped up Dodge Pickup Truck, right? After all, both are available with the Hemi engine.

Jeff Kohn
H-Town, TX
2003.5 Automatic Sedan, Desert Platinum/Willow, Premium, Nav, Tint

 

I have to agree and disagree with you all.

This thing shares all kinds of similarities with the altima. The gage cluster is identical, cept we don't get a trip computer standard, the rear suspension is identical (except the fact that ours has a rear axle passing thru our hub.

The front suspension is almost an exact copy also. I had a 3.5 liter altima and this suspension is very much the same. the brakes are different, the ECU is almost identical.

BTW for those that are saying souped UP altima, you are wrong. a five speed altima will hand the G its *** in a a quartermile and a lowered altima will handle MUCH better than a stock G.

Remember the G is the ENTRY level infiniti luxury sedan. Don't get so high and mighty.

My automatic altima with intake, exhaust and underdrive pulley was alot stronger 0-70 then my 6MT G35.

Because we are RWD, there is a lot more POTENTIAL for handling/power in a G35 than an altima, but also realize that BECAUSE we are RWD we also lose more in our drive train than the altima (which is 300# lighter)

the understeer in my G is worse than it was in my altima. But again the potential is there

AND the last thing, some altimas run over 30 k loaded out with all options

I got my G for jsut over 30,000 when I traded my altima

I do miss the room and the telescoping steering wheel in the altima as well as the power, but not the road noise.

Better Life thru Chemistry

 

I had my G in the other day and got an I35 loaner. It has slightly less power and a 4-speed auto instead of a 5-speed auto, but my butt dyno told me it pulled noticeably stronger off the line, from 50 to 70, and it will spin the front tires with TCS off with only 3/4 throttle (in a straight line).

Plus, I imagine that if I had an Altima or an I35, I wouldn't have called in today requested that my 3rd jammed CD player be replaced... but that's a story for another thread. [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

They only reason the Altima feels faster is because it is lighter other than that its the same. The average for both cars to 60 is about 6.2-6.4 secs. If our car was 300lb lighter we would feel much faster. Another reason it feels faster is because its fwd. Fwd have always feel just a little faster than rwd from what I have read in mags. I dont think that lowering the Altima would make it handle better than the G35 and yest it Infiniti's entry sedan but that is not the case in Japan.

 

i am not here to say the altima is a better car than the G but it's performance aspects deserve a whole lot of respect from y'all. I am not "thinking", I know a lowered altima will handle better than the G SEDAN, not coupe. I drove one for 40,000 miles before I bought the G35 Sedan. I have had it on the same curves as the altima and the G will break traction (albeit stock) alot sooner than my altima would (yes we are talking about taking 45 mph curves at 110 here in an ALTIMA with 900.00 in performance mods on it).

Power wise they are close enough to come down to the driver

Motor trend got a 5.9 0-60 out of a 5 spd

All I am saying is don't diss the alti . Personally, until some of you start doing some more research on this car (like lead foot and mountain), I am learning a whole lot more on the altima and maxima boards than I am here. All the grounding kit, exhaust and intake issues have already been covered years ago on www.altimas.net and www.maxima.org

Not only those but upgraded wheels, tires (the altima comes with 17x7 rims on 215/55/17 tires as well), engine programming, suspension tweaks, and other items concerned with performance

Again the G35 is a damn nice car but it is "JUST" another nissan skyline.

Sean

Better Life thru Chemistry

 

There is no way any frekin altima is hanling better than a G. Why would you buy one if you like altima so much anyway? No FWD can handle G on track. If altima is faster i'd blame G driver. Suspension compenents do not make a a suspension, the rigidity of the car attached to those components and the overall setup (steering, center of gravity, FWD/RWD) in an integrated concept make a suspension what it is. Altima is an accord beater yes G beater no.

This is not like camaro/firebird similarity, this is more of a A4/A6 similarity. Similar components show up in passat as they do A8, no one compares them still.

And understeer goes away if you have VDC off. Then oversteer is the only menu item....but a FWD'er would never even have a chance in twistys either way.

 

Yo SixFive... getting a little peeved huh? Don't let 3point5's opinions get to you..he's just posting his experiences as a previous Altima owner, and since we don't know how skilled a driver he is, we can't assume his observations to be accurate or not. Take it with a pinch of salt...peppered with your personal experiences and opinion.

If 3point5 claims the Alt to be that good, I personally don't know enough to say it isn't... but it looks like he's now a G owner, so there certainly was something that drew him our way.

I can't speak for the rest of you, but this board isn't all about mod's, and go faster, turn better issues; it's nothing like altimas.net, maxima.org and certainly not freshalloy. It feels more friendly-like, albeit anonymously (can we be friendly and anonymous at the same time?)

So chill dudes, and count to ten before responding. Just trying to keep the peace bro's. [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]

<font color=red>chinee</font color=red>
2003.5 G35s

 

3point5SE_Auto,

Did you lower your Altima with Eibachs?
Did you change the shocks?

I had a 2002 3.5SE Altima 5AT with Eibach Pro springs, and while lowering did improve the handling, to me it didn't compare to the handling of my new G35 6MT Sedan.

I didn't change the shocks though, and felt they were strongly lacking, so maybe that would have improved the Altima's handling to compare more closely to the G35, but the diference in handling characteristics were readily apparent to me.

The first drive through the mountains in the G35 had me grinning ear to ear, with my jaw dropped. I couldn't beleive the difference on switchbacks, especially.

On decending turns the front wheel drive Altima engine braking required compensating for the weight transfer, while the G35's real wheel drive was completely neutral. HUGE difference.

Before I sold the Altima, I alternated driving the G35 to compare the difference in handling on high-speed banked interchange ramps.

To tell the truth, I was surprised at how close the two cars compared in cornering ability. Keep in mind, I'm not talking about 10-10ths, at-the-limit driving here. Just 60 mph ramps at up to 85mph to get the feel of handling characteristics.

I found the Altima's steering felt remote-controlled because of the lack of road feel. Also, the wheel had to be turned quite a bit before the car responded, while the G35 steering was so quick and responsive, it took a while getting used to the difference. I had to stop myself from compensating for the Altima's hesitation and weight transfer differences.

I agree that the Altima IS quite a car, but it's a family sedan, NOT a sports sedan.

This "aint" no Altima to me either.
That's why I decided to take a $8,000 financial hit in sales tax and depreciation on the Altima to move to the G35.

 

I currently own a 5spd 3.5SE altima and 6MT g35c. I won't mention handling because obviously the coupe is hands down better, but for straight line performance the altima feels stronger. Everyone thats driven both of my cars tell me the same thing. All I've got in the altima is an intake and timing advanced, but it just outright feels stronger.